Lawmaker divests interest in troubled nursing home

June 30, 2010

State Sen. Heather Steans has divested her ownership stake in a troubled southwest suburban nursing home that has faced repeated citations for serious patient neglect, including medical failures that allegedly contributed to two patients' deaths.

The December death of Cordelia Lee at Evergreen Health Care Center in Evergreen Park and another death of a 90-year-old patient last year are part of a pattern of substandard care that moved state health authorities earlier this month to revoke the facility's license.

Evergreen continues to operate as it contests the revocation before an administrative law judge.

Steans had no operational role in Evergreen, and the Chicago Democrat said that, following a Tribune report on the facility earlier this month, she shed her 2.8 percent interest in the home.

Steans added that she has reviewed her tax returns for the last five years and determined that she has taken no income from her stake in two companies that operate the home.

But the new revelations about the deaths and repeated safety infractions could cloud Steans' reputation as a reformer. She recently spearheaded legislation to improve safety and care standards at nursing homes statewide.

"Frankly, it's shocking that somebody who has been an advocate for nursing home reform has an ownership in a home that has a repeated background of citations," said attorney Steven Levin, whose firm last week filed a lawsuit against Evergreen on behalf of the Lee family.

Steans' interest in the nursing home stems from investments by her father, financier Harrison Steans, the former chairman of LaSalle National Bank. Steans said she donated to a family foundation her interest in the facility -- as well as a 4 percent interest in a related nursing home management firm. Once the foundation assigns a dollar value to those shares, it will make a donation of that amount to charities that serve senior citizens, she said.

"Nobody has suggested that as a result of my minor interest in a nursing home that I was ever deferential to the industry. The opposite is true," Steans said. "I have been the most vocal advocate for nursing home reform and high standards in the state.

"Now that these allegations have come to light, I have divested my interest, not only because I want to avoid even the appearance of a conflict, but because if there is any truth to the charges then the operation of the home has been inconsistent with my values."